Precious Son
by Soledad
Summary: Crossover with the Buffyverse. Riley Finn makes an acquaintance in Belize, and it changes his entire life. AU.


**PRECIOUS SON**

**by Soledad **

**A ''Pathways in the Dark'' story**

**First part of the ''Riley Finn'' storyline, a chapter of my novel-to-be, ''The Prince of the City of Angels''**

**Timeline:** alternate; after the second season of Angel.

**Category:** crossover between Angel, Buffy, Kindred: The Embraced and Poltergeist: The Legacy. The main basis is K:tE, the other shows are adapted to Kindred canon.

**Disclaimer:** The 'Angel' and 'Buffy' characters belong to Joss Whedon, the Kindred clans are property of White Wolf. Poltergeist: The Legacy belongs to Trilogy Entertainment. Only Jaime Moralez is mine.

**Rating:** PG-13 for implied m/m interaction and blood play.

**Warning:** This is an AU. Buffyverse canon has left the building before Angel & Co. would have gone to that silly demon dimension.

**Background:**

1. Angel learns that his Shanshu is many decades in the future; so he decides to get a bit more organized as the Prince of L.A.

2. After long arguments with Wesley and Sister Grace, they realise that Faith would never be able to stand and fight on her own; so Angel Embraces her and establishes a Blood Bond between them. Being Faith's Regnant, it enables him to help her to contain her rage and instability; she becomes his Enforcer and leading warrior against the Sabbat who still endanger L.A.

3. Drusilla, who has been cured from her insanity in Book Five: Amends, follows her Sire and becomes the Archon of Angel's house. Due to her psychic abilities, she also takes over Cordelia's vacant role as Angel's Seer.

4. Millionaire David Nabbit, who had been Embraced in Book 4, buys the abandoned business empire of the late Russell Winters and provides Angel the necessary financial background.

**PROLOGUE**

Somewhere in Belize…

Riley sat up from his bunk and scratched his hair. He was frustrated and a little irritated. This mission was supposed to be lively and action-packed, but their supposed hotspot was nothing more than an empty warehouse. Riley took out his wallet and pulled out of it a picture – the same one he looked at once a day at least. It was slightly faded, but you could clearly make out the young woman. She had long, blond hair that was slightly curled, a nice, but not overly intelligent face, and a pair of hazel eyes. A small sigh escaped Riley's throat, then he put the photo back into his wallet. It was no use dwelling in the past. He'd lost her just as he'd lost everything he thought was important in his life.

The camp was eerily quiet; even the nightly noises of the jungle sounded somewhat... dampened. The air stood still and Riley had the feeling that he was going to suffocate, slowly but inevitably. He scrambled to his feet, careful not to wake Graham, left the tent and looked around in the darkness... looking for the source of the one noise that stood out of the normal background noises.

After a few minutes of searching he found it: a small human form, crouching on the ground, between the large roots of a sky-high tree, shivering as from chilling cold (which, given the fact that they were in a rain forest, was rather unlikely) or from high fever. Riley neared to the unlucky human wreck when a voice stopped him.

"Stay away, Finn."

Weak and trembling, it was the unmistakeable voice and accent of Jaime Moralez, the only guy he'd actually made friends since arriving here. Usually, Jaime was a cheerful person, and he hadn't noticed any sign of sickness on him before.

"What's the matter, man?" Riley asked, worried to the core. "You look like shit."

"I feel like shit," Moralez agreed, eyes glowing feverishly, small, wiry body trembling uncontrollable. "The Thirst is killing me. Don't come any closer, I can't guarantee that I won't attack you."

"Attack me?" Riley frowned. "What for?"

"For your blood, you idiot!" Moralez growled, his eyes shining in an unholy silver gleam.

Riley watched him a few seconds longer, then realization hit him. Hostile 17 – the blond punk vampire Buffy and her friends called Spike – had shivered the same way, suffering from desperate hunger in the labs of the Initiative.

"You're a vampire, aren't you?" he asked quietly, wondering why had it always to be him to tumble over the undead. Not even the jungle of South America proved to be far enough to avoid them.

"Don't use that filthy word!" Moralez hissed angrily. "I'm no Sabbat monster, I've never killed my prey in order to feed. We have our rules. No mortal is supposed to be harmed."

"Well, the ones _I've_ met so far never cared for high morale," Riley remarked dryly.

"Which shows that you've only met the scum of our people," Moralez replied. "Most of us are actually useful members of society. We work for a living, pay our taxes and are almost undistinguishable for human... well, except for a few details."

"Which reminds me: how come that you won't ignite in the sunlight?" Riley asked.

"I would, except I've fed enough." Moralez sighed. "But for a couple of nights, I wasn't able to catch any rodents, and I can't feed from humans."

"Why not?"

"I'm too young. I've only been Embraced two months ago, and my Sire got killed before she could have taught me how to Dominate humans."

"_Dominate_?"

"Make them forget I drank from them. Also, I have never learnt how to turn into a wolf... or a hawk. It would make so much easier to hunt small animals... Hell, I wasn't even supposed to _be_ here. The plan was that I learn everything I needed to survive, then quit the Army and take a civilian job. But after my Shire had been killed by the cursed Sabbat, I was left to my own, and before I realized what was happening, I was sent here."

"Not the best place for a vamp... for an undead citizen," Riley commented. "Aside from the sun, there are also Graham and myself who'd have found out who... _what_ you are. We worked with demons before."

"I realized that," Moralez sighed, "and I dreaded the day it'd come out. But now... it doesn't matter any more."

"Why not?"

"I'm starving. So stay away from me, would you? I like you, Finn, I really do, but when the Thirst gets any worse, I won't be able to restrain myself from jumping your throat. I'm still no full-grown Kindred, you know, just a neonate. My control isn't particularly strong."

"Kindred? That's what you call yourselves?"

"Yeah. I shouldn't tell you anything, but since I'm dying anyway, I guess it's not an issue now."

"Don't be ridiculous," Riley opened the collar of his shirt and kneeled next to him. "Here, feed."

"Are you crazy, Finn? I could kill you..."

"I don't think so. You're not the first vamp... Kindred... who's fed on me, and as you can see, I'm still here. C'mon, you're a nice guy, I don't want you to die... again."

Moralez hesitated, but the painful Thirst was too strong, so he bent over; pressing his face against Riley's collar, tongue flicking out, as he tasted the sweat on Riley's neck. It was sweat he'd caused, he was sure of it, and the tremble which followed through just reassured him that Riley wasn't going anywhere. So he pressed his tongue flat, his hands now braced above Riley's head, and licked the hollow at the base of that beautiful, strong neck. He lapped there for a few seconds, enjoying the warmth of his friend, the intoxicating scent of his blood, until the veins sprang forth under the sweaty skin. Then his fangs emerged and sank into the jugular of the offered neck. He drank in deep gulps, moaning ecstatically.

Riley closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around the other man's much smaller frame. The pleasure of being fed from swept over him like a tidal wave. If Moralez drained him dry, he'd have left him... it simply felt too good to stop. The craving he thought forgotten since he left Sunnydale, returned with a vengeance, and he shivered in anticipation of more.

But the young Mexican stopped himself just in time and licked over the small puncture wounds to seal them.

"Thanks, man," he said. "You saved me from turning into a pile of dust in a couple of days. Now tell me your story."

"My _story_?"

"Yeah. No one offers himself for dinner without a reason. A very serious one. So tell me what it is, because I doubt that it'd be just my pretty face."

Riley grinned involuntarily (Moralez _did_ have a pretty face, small and pleasant, almost like a girl's, with those silky, dark locks around it), then sighed and started to tell his buddy the whole sorry story, with Buffy, the Initiative, Angel, Spike, vampires, witches, werewolves, the grisly death of his best friend (and almost more), Forrest, and everything that had happened to him in the last year and a half.

Especially about his disturbingly growing need to let vampires feed on him and how Buffy found out about him... and how, consequently, he ended up in the rain forest, on a mission which hadn't proved to be worth of it.

"It had been weeks since I left Sunnydale," he finished, "weeks since I'd been fed from. I could've never guessed what a fucking drug that would turn out to be, the craving I would develop for it. I was glad she found out, glad there were no more secrets. But I missed it. Fuck principles... I want to go on with this... I want to always be able to feel this... Just keep it coming... Never felt anything so good... like everything good I could ever feel all at once... orgasm, runner's high, rich chocolate cake, and a week of Christmases... I've grown accustomed, I guess."

Moralez listened to him, sympathetically.

"Man, Finn," he said with emphasis, "What a weird life! And I thought _I had_ it bad. That chica must have been a damn fool to dump you, even for Angelus." He nuzzled Riley's neck playfully. "You smell so good... and _taste_ even better. I'm surprised Angelus didn't try to snap you away from the chica right at the beginning. He's said to like your type."

"Hey, buddy!" Riley tried to avoid the feather-light kisses the vampire was placing on his neck. "Are you gay or what?"

"No, I'm bisexual," Moralez stated, stroking his hair gently with his small, fine-boned hands. "All Kindred are, to a certain extent, although some more than other. That's part of our nature; by males much stronger and more evident than by females, though. C'mon, I only want to return the favour. You look like someone in desperate need for release."

Riley tried – weakly – to object, but then gave in to his long-suppressed need which was cared for expertly by Moralez' strong, sensitive fingers.

They continued like this for another couple of weeks, and for the very first time in his life, Riley finally felt truly accepted, needed and wanted. He'd never had a male lover before (Forrest and him _did_ have a thing running, but before it could have become anything serious, Buffy happened, and it was over), but Moralez taught him patiently and never demanded anything from him he wasn't ready yet to give. So they stuck to 'high school stuff', as Jaime called it, and planned to take it slowly before they'd come to real lovemaking.

That was the plan, anyway. Only, it never came so far.

They've been caught in the act, fumbling and kissing in the dark, not far away from the camp.

The Army had never been known to be all too tolerant towards 'alternative' love interests, and Graham, the only one Riley could have hoped some understanding, due their long friendship, had been away on another insignificant mission. So they ended up in confinement until a decision had been made. Unfortunately, in the jungle that meant the usual twig-cages, and as a part of the punishment, the cages weren't protected from direct sunlight. Not having been able to feed, Moralez spontaneously combusted and burned to death on the fourth day.

Riley's heart broke, seeing his only remaining friend and possible lover ignite and die painfully in front of his very eyes. Part of him, however, was almost glad that it was over. Jaime had suffered incredibly in those days, from Thirst almost as much as from the sunlight, and it became unbearable to listen to the whimpering sounds of his misery.

The official version was, of course, that Moralez committed suicide with the help of a gas lighter. Which was ridiculous, since the poor guy didn't even smoke. And how was it to explain that a pile of ash was everything that remained from him? But the Army had always been great in denial, and so they made their own – however weak – explanation about the incident and relieved Riley from duty permanently. Quickly and quietly, with a good batch of money to keep his mouth shut.

Not that Riley would have planned to make anything public. How could he have done that anyway? But he didn't even want to. The Army was the last part of his former life to break apart, and he accepted it with a numb determination that made the just returning Graham seriously worried about him. Graham felt that his friend was slipping away and had no idea how to help him.

And now, they were sitting in a plane that brought them back to the States: Graham to a new assignment, Riley to a not-so-promising future. He couldn't go back to Iowa, to some semblance of normal life. Too much had happened. He'd changed in too many ways. His parents could never have understood those changes and he didn't want to upset them. The golden boy of Mr. and Mrs. Finn was gone, forever... best not confront them with the loss. At least not yet. Not before he figured out what to do with the wreck left over in the disguise of his body.

When the plane landed in Los Angeles for fuel, he suddenly decided to depart.

"Where are you going?" Graham asked.

"I'm staying here," Riley said.

"What for?" Graham pressed.

Riley shrugged. "I think I really need a change. I'll have a message for you by my mother when I've decided what to do. I promise."

No, he couldn't tell Graham right now what he was about to do. Hell, he hadn't even worked it out for himself. But he knew one thing: there was one person in L.A. he could turn to. One person who could possibly understand his relationship to Jaime, his terrible loss. One person, who used to be his sworn enemy, but could become something else.

A 250-year-old Master Vampire called Angelus.

Or Angel, in these days.

TBC


End file.
